Dubai: New investors of MBC Group had reason to cheer on Monday after the Saudi Arabian media giant’s initial public offering (IPO) shares jumped 30 per cent on its first day of listing. The debutant on Saudi Exchange ‘Tadawul’ raised SR831 million ($222 million) for publicly floating 10 per cent of the business.
MBC Group shares opened at SR32.5 ($8.67), trading higher than its IPO offer price of SR25 per share.
The offering was received well by regional and international investors, resulting in an order book of SR54.5 billion, and led to a subscription cover of about 66 times the number of total shares offered, MBC said on Monday.
“Through this IPO we welcomed new shareholders to the company and raised the capital needed to take us through our next phase of growth, innovation and impact,” said Sam Barnett, chief executive of MBC Group, which operates 13 free-to-air TV channels and runs the streaming-platform Shahid.
“We have a clear road map guiding us through what the next phase of growth looks like, including growing the number of subscribers and viewers on Shahid, increasing advertising sales across our platforms, and expanding operations into exciting and promising sub-sectors including sports, music, gaming, and events.”
